In the Nov. 6 election, Georgians will vote on state constitutional amendment HR1162 and decide whether a state agency sets up charter schools or if those decisions will be left in the hands of local school boards.

But it may not be an easy decision for Savannah voters.

Local school choice has improved since Savannah-Chatham public schools officials began constructing education sales tax-funded campuses and developing new K-8 schools and specialty programs.

Voters can’t look to the collective outcomes of local charter schools for proof that having a state agency to create more will spark academic revolution. Savannah’s Oglethorpe Charter School is highly celebrated for its outcomes, but the two other local charter schools are not.

Even party lines are a little too blurry to vote along. In August, State School Superintendent John Barge split from other high profile Georgia Republicans by issuing a statement in opposition to the charter school constitutional amendment.

“I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of Education and the state Board of Education,” Barge wrote in his statement.

“What’s more, this constitutional amendment would direct taxpayer dollars into the pockets of out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies whose schools perform no better than traditional public schools and locally approved charter schools (and worse, in some cases).”

While the National PTA is taking a neutral stance on who should set up and fund charter schools, the Georgia PTA is urging Georgia voters to oppose the constitutional amendment for setting up a state charter school agency.

But the Savannah-Chatham Board of Education has adopted a resolution asking residents to vote against the amendment.

Conscientious voters will have to do their homework to make an informed decision on this education issue.

The debate

HR1162 is a proposal to amend the state constitution and allow a state agency to establish education policy and charter schools. Currently, local school boards work with the Georgia Department of Education to grant charters to independent groups. Groups with models for unique schools with the potential to outperform traditional ones are supposed to get a charter and public school funding for operations.

Local proponents of HR1162 say the constitutional amendment will benefit the greater academic good. If the state constitution is amended to create a state charter school agency, there will be more public school options and opportunities for dissatisfied parents and underprivileged students, particularly in districts that have refused to approve charter schools.

“The primary focus of the legislation is in the Atlanta area. It in no way reflects the Savannah system. They have made great progress. But in the Atlanta area there are students who have no academic opportunity — no way out,” said State Rep. Ron Stephens, R -Savannah. “Education is the only way some kids can get out of failing systems and in some systems that opportunity just isn’t there.”

But those who oppose HR1162 say it will undercut local public school funding, open the door to education vouchers, enable Atlanta bureaucrats to create a separate school system with no local connection or accountability, and set the stage for a privatized education system in Georgia.

“I have no problem with charter schools but I don’t feel like we’ve been giving proper support for our current school systems,” said State Rep. J. Craig Gordon, D-Savannah. “I have a problem when we’re creating mechanisms for new educational systems and we aren’t fully funding our existing systems.”

Charters in Chatham

Earlier this year the Savannah Tea Party hosted a discussion about public charter schools in Georgia and the upcoming charter school constitutional amendment vote.

“I think education is vitally important and every child should have the best possible education,” said Savannah Tea Party member Marolyn Overton. “Charter schools have done a great job for the most part. Having choice brings up the whole system.”

Over the last 14 years, more than 12 charter groups have petitioned for the use of Savannah-Chatham public schools’ funding so they can have the public money and autonomy to run a charter school the way they see fit.

Just five of those petitioners got what they wanted — Oglethorpe Charter School, Gateway, Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School (CEMCS), Tybee Maritime Academy and Savannah Classical Academy. Oglethorpe has operated successfully for more than a decade, but both Gateway and CEMCS have had issues with Savannah- Chatham School Board expectations. The Gateway charter was ultimately terminated.

In October, the Tybee Maritime Academy and Savannah Classical Academy were approved to open during the 2013-14 school year. But Savannah-Chatham schools officials, who seem to approach each charter proposal with caution, reluctantly granted the schools their blessing. The school board has learned from experience that many charter school groups desire to improve public education, but not all can deliver.

“Oglethorpe Charter School is a shining star in our school district and outperforms every middle school in the district,” said Savannah-Chatham school board member Lori Brady, who serves on the board’s Charter School Committee.

“However, CEMCS has struggled financially and academically since it opened. And of course, as you know Gateway Charter is closing due to lack of performance. The Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education offers many choices to our students and families. While I personally support choice, I do not support an outside commission deciding what is in the best interest of our students.”

Approval process

But some people have trouble giving officials of struggling public school systems sole power over student interests.

Tony Roberts, Georgia Charter Schools Association chief executive officer, said some school districts make it extremely difficult for charter school petitioners and some are down right defiant.

“There are 160 districts in Georgia that refuse to approve any charter schools,” Roberts said.

Passage of HR1162 would create a way around charter-resistant school boards. But getting local school board approval is only half the battle for charter school petitioners under current law. All school board-approved petitions have to pass muster with Georgia Board of Education officials as well. And that’s not easy. State Board of Education officials scour over everything from financial plans and campus facilities to enrollment projections and academic plans. In 2010 the West Chatham Preparatory Academy was approved by the Savannah-Chatham school board but rejected by the state.

Many argue that the creation of a separate state authorizing agency won’t make the process any easier. The Georgia Charter School Commission had the power to approve charter petitions for two years before it was ruled unconstitutional in 2011. During its last year of operations the commission reviewed petitions from 19 charter school groups, including two from Savannah. Just six were approved statewide.

Alex Medler, vice president of research for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, said the process should be difficult. Whether it is the responsibility of a school district or a state agency, the charter school evaluation process should weed out groups that aren’t prepared to produce successful programs, according to Medler.

“Authorizers need to do the best job possible in picking those that will succeed,” he said. “Creating a state authorizing agency shouldn’t create an easy way for anyone who wants it to get public funding for a school.”

Education cure-all?

Many will base their constitutional amendment vote on who they think can do a better job — Georgia’s public school districts or charter school groups. Unfortunately there is no definitive answer to that question.

“I don’t think there are any silver bullets in public education,” said Todd Ziebarth, of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools are just another tool in the toolbox.”

In states with strong charter laws and well-implemented programs, some charter schools have outperformed public schools, Ziebarth said. On the other hand, in some states where charter law is weak and charter schools are poorly implemented, public schools are the top performers. In some instances there is no obvious difference.

But Georgia’s charter school amendment vote is not about the quality of charter schools vs. traditional public schools. It’s about who will approve charter schools and how they will be funded.

Covering Costs

For many cash-strapped public school officials the constitutional amendment debate is all about the money.

If the constitutional amendment passes and an agency is created to authorize charter schools there will be a new line item added to the state budget to fund it. That funding will be based on the lowest average allotment that Georgia’s public school systems get for each child they enroll. Currently, charter school funding comes out of the budget of the public school system that approves it. Proponents of HR1162 say it’s good business and public school systems that satisfy their customers won’t have to worry about losing state revenue.

“No local funds will be allotted to state-approved charter schools and school districts will only lose money if a child leaves the regular public school to attend the charter school, just like they lose it if a child moves to Alabama,” Roberts said.

But opponents of HR1162 fear the outflow of already dwindling state education funds wouldn’t stop there.

“The General Assembly doesn’t seem to have a problem taking money out of the state budget to create these new charter schools, however they can never seem to find enough money to fully fund traditional public education,” said Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendent’s Association.

The result would be two separate publicly funded education systems, according to Georgia School Boards Association Policy and Legislative Services Director Angela Palm, a state system and a local system.

“There is no additional money to fund the schools the state will be approving,” Palm said. “There is no funding to do it all and local taxpayers need to think long and hard.”

WHAT YOU’LL SEE ON THE BALLOT

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?

A vote of YES means you want a new legislative agency created to approve and fund local charter schools.

A vote of NO means you want approval and funding of charter schools to remain in the hands of local school boards and the Georgia Board of Education.

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I am voting YES. The Savannah Chatham Board of Education is more worried about control and monies received that delivering a good product. I am NOT saying that teachers do a bad job just that the leadership at Bull Street has a different agenda.

I am voting yes. The local public school system is well below average in a state that ranks at or near the bottom in America. Graduation rates are too low. Test scores are too low. Drop-out rates are too high.
We, the citizens of Chatham County are seeing our tax dollars wasted. We have seen little to no improvement in decades!
It is time to let someone else try to fix our problems. Maybe the folks in Atlanta can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

over the local schools, that the schools, charter or otherwise will become better. You think the schools are bad here. Do you think they are any better in Atlanta? I bet Atlanta has more problems and dropout rates than Savannah. I no longer have a dog in this hunt. My boys are grown now. But if I had children in public school I would not want to have permission from Atlanta to form a charter school. The bureaucrats from the state do not know the locals.

The Atlanta School System will not be in charge of the Charter School Program. The state government which happens to be located there will be administering the program.

The local school board is not inclined to approve more Charter Schools. It reduces their control/power and removes the better performing students from the local schools; thereby further lowering test scores.

Bull St. intended to keep our brighter children in failing schools to prop up test scores and make them look like they are producing something.

So if House bill HR1162 passes, where does the money come from to pay for these schools? The general fund (wonder what their going to cutt from other programs to pay for this - or maybe raise taxes - SNICK). This means if the state approves a new charter in Gwynett County, it gets the funds for that school, the funds from the state education alotment the writer of the bill say that can't touch (which is already the highest per student per capitia in the state), and their county mill collection (which the new charter can't touch) and their tax payer approved ESPLOST (the highest ESPLOT collection per capitia in the state which the new chater can't use either). All but one of the state approved charter orginal approved before the courts ruled agains them was in the Atlanta loop. ALL BUT 1. With that in mind, Effingham voters on the other hand are less likely to get a state approved charter (so sorry, your system is too good and has a balanced set of books to be classified as being in need) so they get an even smaller education alotment of funds, and no state issued charter funds - all while having a smaller mill collection per child, and a median ESPLOST collection compaired to other systems...

This seems fair - lets send our collected state income tax to fund even more out of area stuff - Cause we all know how fair the state assembly is when it comes to picking who gets state funds for what around here (said no one ever...).

This is not a vote on how to improve local school systems or improve graduation rates; it is about who controls tax funds and local boards.

If Amendment 1 is approved, taxes will increase and all control of approval will go to the state capitol building.

The amendment was written to address the failing systems in and around Atlanta, although charter schools are no more effective than local public schools. Local districts should retain their power to elect the members of their local school boards and hold them responsible for the operation of their local schools.

If you aren't happy with how your local board is functioning, recruit and vote for effective leaders. Don't give more power to the Ga Dept of Education just because you aren't happy with your board.